Seventeen-year-old Rashidah Hassan from Good Shepherd Convent Kandy, and 18-year-old Sarith Bandara from Trinity College, Kandy have done all Kandyans proud by entering the Grand Finals of the Spellmaster with CIMA , the all-island schools spelling competition.

Although she made a very bold statement "I am going to be the Spellmaster " at the initial competition conducted in Kandy, Rashidah who tends to get a bit nervous initially thereafter takes her time and spells the word letter by letter leaving the audience and panel in suspense not knowing if she knew was getting right or not.

If one was not to know her style you would imagine she's guessing, but this is the way she has performed right through the competition and now finds herself in the finals. Rashidah is a first year A/L student at Good Shepard Convent, Kandy and is reported to be a very quiet and relatively shy student even in a schooling career.

The authorizes in school were extremely proud of her achievement mainly because they were able to identify the talent and to give her the opportunity of representing the school although she came in to Good Shepard only for her Advanced Levels.

She is the second child and the only girl in a family of 3. Her elder brother appears to be her mentor and plays an integral part in her progress during the competition. Her mum is a housewife, whilst her dad has been heavily involved in the leisure industry and has only recently returned after a stint in the Middle East where he has worked as a consultant on promoting leisure.

Rasidah spends a lot of her time reading and has a passion for foreign languages, which she is pursuing for her A/Level examinations, studying French, English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilization.

The other Kandyan in the competition is 18-year-old Trinitian Sarith Bandara a second-year Advanced Level student who studies Maths, Physics and, originating from his genes, his pet subject Chemistry.
Sarith is a proud product of the school that has created a great impression even prior to the Spellmaster.
He has a reputation for being focused and getting thorough everything he sets out on. He excels in studies and has a love for sports and music.

Sarith is again the second in a family of 2 boys and one girl. His dad is a professor in Chemistry at the University of Peradeniya and his mum is also a senior lecturer at the University of Peradeniya. The serious look portrayed by Sarith in the Spellmaster continues even in school and at home, inspite of him being reported to be a very caring and sincere personality.

Although he performed exceptionally well in the initial rounds, incidentally not missing a word until about the 4th round in the top 20, he tends to take the competition very lightly which may be his only week link.
With two other equally talented spellers Sivaplan Chelvanathilan from St. Patrick's College, Jaffna and Rukshala Ilukkumbura from Gateway College Colombo also competing in the finals, the grand finals of the Spellmaster is an event not to be missed.

Watch the action on Sirasa TV on Saturday at 6 p.m.